Attended the 130th anniversary of the Dunkirk (NY) Lighthouse on Lake Erie this past weekend, and the claim was made there that the keeper's quarters was the first built by the government in the Victorian style. The date, 1875, seems plausible. Anybody able to confirm or refute?

Hereford Inlet Lighthouse was constructed under the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Of Victorian design, the Lighthouse was considered more sophisticated than was characteristic of other lighthouses of the era, creating a picturesque structure featuring five fireplaces. It was truly a comfortable home to the Lighthouse keeper and his family.

On May 11 ,1874, a "NOTICE TO MARINERS" formally announced the start of operation of the light.

Mike, while I am by no means a qualified Architect, it appears to me that this can become an extremely subjective call because the architectural period which has come to be known as Victorian incorporated the following accepted sub styles:

There appear to be no hard and fast rules governing whether a structure fits within one of these sub styles, with many structures accepted as being designed "in the Victorian style" containing individual earmarks of these styles.

As you know, my area of expertise (if I can indeed lay claim to any) is limited to the lights of lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron, and only being familiar with the lights in this area, I offer the following:

The 1869 McGulpin Point lighthouse located in the Straits of Mackinac, appears to combine elements of both the Gothic Revival and Stick styles. As it happens, the plan used for this station was a virtual duplicate of the structure built on Eagle Bluff the prior year, but did not feature the octagonal tower, and thus lacked some of the Gothic details.

Here is a photo of the station from my website:

By the way, the lantern was removed some time after 1906 when the station was rendered obsolete subsequent to the establishment of the Old Mackinac Point light station.

This, and $5.00 in pocket change will get you a cup of coffee at your local Starbucks